1. Field of the Invention
This invention broadly relates to a woodsplitting device and more particularly, to an attachment for a conically-shaped screw-type woodsplitting device.
2. Brief Description of Prior Art.
In the past, various types of manual devices have been utilized to split wood such as logs, boards or the like. For example, a simple metal wedge is held in one hand of the operator and is pounded into a log with a hammer held by the other hand of the operator which, in turn, causes the wood fibers to separate until the log splits into two pieces. Another manual woodsplitting device is a combination ax and wedge. This is simply a modified ax having a wedge-type head for an operator to strike with a hammer after the ax portion of this device is embedded into the wood.
Recently, an automatic device has been developed for splitting wood. This device comprises a conically-shaped screw that is rigidly attached to an adapter plate and can be bolted onto an engine-driven wheel of a vehicle such as a pick-up truck, car or the like. While one end of the log maintains contact with the ground surface, the other end of the log is pressed against the rotating screw so that the screw begins to penetrate the log. As the penetration of the screw deepens, the conical shape of the screw forces the log to split. However, quite often, the maximum diameter of the conically-shaped screw is insufficient to split the log completely usually because wet wood pulp fibers tend to resist splitting or because the log itself is simply too large in diameter for the conical screw to effectively split the log. As a result, the operator of the woodsplitting device must stop the rotation of the woodsplitter, remove the partially split log, and either complete the splitting by hand or attempt to utilize the conically-shaped screw-type woodsplitter again by pressing the log against the rotating screw at a point directly opposite to the first point of penetration. These inherent disadvantages of having to stop the rotational device and to pry the partially split log from the screw results in wasted time, wasted manual effort, and an overall decrease in operating efficiency.
It is from these considerations and others that the present invention has evolved. As a result of the present invention, the maximum splitting diameter of the conical screw of the woodsplitter has been significantly increased to solve the problem of producing partially split wood. Furthermore, the attachment is easily affixed to the conically-shaped screw and is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.